Are You Afraid?
by Grimm-Inuoka004
Summary: Challenge from Old-Hound7. Orihime ponders over the events of what has occurred to Ichigo during his fight with Ulquiorra. Who knew that she would get just a little unexpected help from someone so unfamiliar with the term love...


**A/N:**** A challenge prompt from ****Old-Hound7****. Not usually an Ichigo X Orihime fan (Hence the challenge). If you like the story at all, please leave a review.**

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own Bleach or the characters.**

**Are You Afraid?**

The darkness of the night fell over Karakura Town with stars shining quietly across the sky as if to comfort the girl staring up at them from the lone sidewalk. The night air was cold enough to turn her breath into a faint mist. Her grey eyes glimmered with sadness and shame. The night was just like this when she witnessed her dear friend turn into a complete monster. Watching as he fought furiously against the beast that was known as Ulquiorra, proving to be more a monster than those that hunted the weak. That gaping hole at the center of his chest, that look of bloodlust; everything about that form, that which she has turned him to by calling out to him at the highest peak of despair, it all filled her with dread and horror. She had turned him that way, she forced him to go beyond his limits and bring about what he did not want to become. She turned him into a monster blind to all; blind to even his friends. What would have happened if Ulquiorra had not striked at that critical moment? Would Uryu still be alive, would he be blind to her as well?

"No." She shook her head, quickly pushing away those thoughts. Of course he would never do such a thing! He cared deeply for his friends, he would do anything to keep them safe, he would have stopped himself; she was sure of it!

A wind blew through her coat, chilling her skin beneath the cloth. A shiver crawled up her form. It felt lonely again. Lonely and cold.

She felt stupid for even thinking of that. He said he would protect her, but how far did he have to go to keep her safe? She brought her bag closer, preparing to go back home from walking through the park. The moon was beautiful, majestic as it loomed over the earth in a light glow creating shadows that stretched from one place to another making odd forms near the buildings and the objects secured into place. It was haunting how some of those shadows reminded her of the espada that passed by her room. The only female and the lone wolf stealing a glance her way whenever Ulquiorra brought her daily meal and Grimmjow when he had saved her from the cruel hands of Menoly and Loly. The fifth with his leery eyes and sick grin. They all saw her as someone who was out of place, someone who did not belong.

Orihime let out a statled gasp at the swift shadow of a creature flying past her. Looking up she could see it was only a bat flying to rest on a street lamp. It squeaked and she let out a sigh of relief. She glanced back at it as it reminded her of those peircing green eyes that constantly analyzed her throughout her stay in Hueco Mundo. The bat looked back at her and squeaked once more as if to call to her.

"I thought bats usually flew with others." She mused allowing a smile to grace her lips, but it was small and faint.

_Hollows do not normally form groups, onna._

Orihime snapped her head back in the direction of the small animal and when she took a closer look she found that the bat's eyes were a bright yellow. Her own eyes went wide with surprise before quickly turning away to resume her path home. "It was just my head." She whispered. "I've been out too long, I'm thinking too much on everything." She said, trying to assure herself that the espada known as the fourth was no more, even if it hurt slightly.

_How strange...why are you trying to hide? It's not like you have anything to keep from that shinigami. You've told me on countless occasions of your feelings for him. Why are you being so elusive, onna?_

Orihime shot her gaze upwards to find that the bat was flying just above her head.

"What are you talking about? I'm not hiding anything from my friends!" She said defensively stopping to glare at the bat that flew to sit on the ground in front of her.

_You humans are so irrational. If that were the case, then why have you skipped school for more than a week?_

"Wha- How do you know about that? How are you even here?" She asked, looking around as if there were others listening to her.

The bat seemed to glare at her.

_It was quite obvious after watching over you since you've returned to the human world and as for your other question I'm unable to regain my original form and so have become what you humans call a bat. The real issue at hand, onna, is your lack cooperation. You are hiding from the shinigami, you are keeping the truth you continually spoke of, from him and it is doing nothing but hurting you._

Orihime relaxed as she leaned a little away from him to look elsewhere.

_Is it your heart?_

She felt the light breeze of his wings fluttering at the top of her head where he now perched. She kept her gaze down. "The heart is very precious, but it is not perfect. There are many things that may make the heart uncertain and..."

_Afraid?_

She nodded. She felt like crying now. She couldn't deny that her dearest friend had struck fear in her heart; a deep cold fear that had made her act foolishly. She avoided him, too ashamed to feel that way towards him of all people! Towards the one that promised her safety even if his power harbored a monsters. She refused to expose that weakness, refused to show him that she was caught in genuine fear of him, of what he was. She was also afraid of possibly ruining something that had built up throughout their days of school and hardships. Afraid that he would reject her.

"I'm scared he will reject me, Kuchiki-san held much more faith in him than I did. She is always there when he needs someone..." She sniffed as the tears came falling making the bat perk its ears and crawl forward to look down at her face where her arm went up to wipe away the tears or just to simply hide them from view. "I've hardly become someone he could depend on, someone who could protect him and not be a burden."

The bat glanced back behind them, his ears twitching and without warning let out a series of cries as he jumped from his place on his head to fly off in a random direction. It was so subtle that Orihime didn't even notice too caught up in her fear, her face flushed as she let out a sorrowful sob. "I don't think I'll ever be able to tell him how much I love him..." She murmured, even with the stillness of the cold night and her quiet sobs, she failed to hear the faint footsteps come up behind her.

"Orihime?"

Her whole body froze at the soft voice, her arm suspended in place that her tears fell on her sleeve. Her head raised and shock overcame her features once more. Swiftly she turned to see that Ichigo stood behind her, his face filled with worry as he saw her tear stained cheeks and puffy eyes, her face red from the slight effort of holding in her sobs. His eyes widened at her state, but before he could ask her what was the matter she swiftly turned to try and run home.

"Orihime!" She heard his shout but would not turn. "Watch out!"

Instictively she opened her eyes to see a small black blur coming straight to her hovering just a mere inch from her face. There was a screech and she let out a short shriek of surprise. She shut her eyes and made another swift turn bumping right into Ichigo's chest where he wrapped his arms to hold her steady. The black blur flew upwards to avoid getting squashed between the two, squeaking and flying onto a roof, with narrow eyes staring down at them with hidden determination.

_Stop hiding and tell him, onna, before it is too late._

Orihime looked down from her place in his arms, small resolution building up from within the depths of her eyes, feeling courage gradually coming to her, but there was no denying the fear that remained.

"Are you okay?" Ichigo asked as he eyed the bat that bared its fangs at him.

_Where is the heart that you showed me?_

She let out a small whimper as she pulled away from him to bring her gaze back up. Her eyes watery, but were no longer streaming tears. She nodded at him and looked up to glance at the bat.

"I wonder what got into him." He scratched the back of his head as he tried to start a conversation and allow her some time to talk.

"He's probably just a little frustrated." She sighed, the wind cooling her face and a dull headache beginning to form. Ichigo gave her a confused look, waiting to see if she would continue. "I know how he feels." She smiled, laughing a little at her own foolishness. "I didn't know what to do..." Her smile turned into a frown. "I just hid behind the excuses, but that didn't help. I have to stand up for myself though, I can't hide from you forever." She sighed again bringing out a stretch of mist clouding the space in front of her.

"I'm sorry I haven't been showing up to school, Kurosaki-kun..." She let her bag fall softly to the ground, moving her arms to her back as she took one last look at the bat for a bit of assurance before fully turning to face the confused orange haired male. "I'm sorry I haven't been fully honest with you."

Ichigo's eyes softened at her apologies, his shoulders slumping forward as he came to stand before her. He smiled then. "I uh, actually heard what you were saying." He said with a faint blush appearing on his face. There was long moment where nothing but silence came between the two until Orihime got past her fear a little more.

"Um, did you hear everything?" She asked hoping that he would leave the harmless creature watching them from above, alone.

"I just heard you say that you...didn't think you'd be able to tell someone how much you love them." He looked her, watching for any kind of reaction from her. "Do you mind if I ask you who this someone is?" He questioned, leaning forward a little to try and see her eyes. Her own eyes flickered over to him as uneasiness crept back in her. This was her chance to finally break through that wall that seperated them, a chance to become strong even if it would break her.

Her throat became dry as she tried to summon her voice, trying to bring her eyes to look at his own. The images of her trying to kiss him before she left for Hueco Mundo flashed in her head and she faltered a bit. She tried to appear strong, tried to build up all her courage just to convey her true feelings to him, but it did not completely go as planned. Her eyes were filled with uncertainty and her shoulders rose to try and hide her blushing face, her voice was small and edged with fear as she spoke.

"I-it was you..."

Ichigo remained silent, his face unreadable. His eyes went up to look at the moon. "My sisters would always say that I was too dumb sometimes. They were always right in that logic." He chuckled lightly as he glanced at her. His light conversation was making her become more comfortable, but she had yet to know his real response. "I'll have to wonder if I will always be that way. I'm rash and may jump to conclusions at times. Many of those times I have suspected that you might like me, but I was so sure that this thing inside me would keep you away, leaving you to feel nothing more towards me than that of a good friend." Orihime looked at him with disbelief at his words.

She took that chance to hold him. Getting closer and wrapping her arms around him to bury her face against his chest covered with a black jacket. Ichigo didn't even flinch, he stood there even moving his arms to allow her adequate space to hug him. He knew her fear of the hollow in him, knew that look when she him fight Grimmjow with yellow eyes surrounded by black and unleashing wave after wave of dark power and then to have it intensify into a bright red in a form of raw instinct. But even in that darkness, he recognized her as someone very important, vowing without even being aware of it to keep her safe from all that was a potential threat. New tears formed at the corners of her eyes, but they were no longer filled with sorrow or fear, they were that of relief.

"I still loved you." She murmured against his clothing. Warmth spread through them, keeping the cool breeze from numbing their bodies. Ichigo allowed her words to ring through his mind, a small smile forming on his lips as he brought one arm to hold her waist and the other to rest on her head. He didn't feel the heat of a blush or the bashfulness accompanied with embarrassment, just content that she didn't fear him and in fact loved him, bypassing all the negatives and seeing him for who he was. She moved her head to look up at him her cheeks pink from either the cold or from her actions, it didn't really matter. He moved his face away a bit to look down at her with a smile and leaned lower to plant his lips on hers.

Orihime now felt complete happiness as jolts of pleasure spread throughout their being, her eyes closed just to savor this moment. Ichigo had his eyes slightly open to save her expression into memory. It was an innocent exchange of their feelings, quiet as the moon that floated high above with only the stars watching, their shine becoming just a little brighter. They parted when the need for air became to great, little puffs of breath disappearing into the nothing. It was then that they realized how awkward it became for the two of them, resulting in Ichigo looking away to the sky and Orihime looking down, replaying what had just happened in her mind. She couldn't help but smile wide, the monster was not gone from him, but it was a part of him. There would be nothing that could change that.

"Come on, I'll take you home." He said quietly still looking up at the dark sky, avoiding her gaze. She giggled.

"Okay."

Ulquiorra watched as the two went down the same path, Ichigo holding tightly onto Orihime's; you would think someone would snatch her away by the way he held it. Firm but gentle, not allowing the light to fade away and be swallowed by the horrors of the pure shadows that plagued him.

"So that's where you went, whats the deal with you disappearing like that? Hallibel almost beat the crap outta me when she found out you went missing." A gruff voice spoke in irritation.

_I was merely helping a friend._

"Hmph, since when have you become all soft and chummy with them?"

_Ever since she gave me a heart._

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. It's time to go back. We aren't allowed to stick around here forever; they'll find you out and kill you sooner or later if ya do."

_I suppose your right._ He agreed solemnly, he continued to look at the two until they disappeared from sight. He spread his wings and took flight, the wingspan growing ever larger as a garganta opened up from the space. The bats body continued to morph at the difference of dimensions between the two worlds. The blue haired male was the first to go through while he stayed to leave out one last thought that swayed with the passing wind that made his black hair dance, gold eyes trained at nothing and an elegant long tail flicking in slight amusement.

"Best to hold on tight Kurosaki Ichigo, you'll never what might swoop down and steal your precious flower when given an opprotunity."

-X-X-X-

**A/N:**** Definately not my best, but I tried. It is so hard writing IchiHime, I'm sorry I just had to add Ulqui, it just wouldn't be me if I didn't now would it, Hound? Of course not. Anyway I hope this was to your liking be sure to leave a review, ne?**


End file.
